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<title>A Picture That Is Worth Your Life by Grim Reaper Cultist (DeletedBecauseShy)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30133416">A Picture That Is Worth Your Life</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeletedBecauseShy/pseuds/Grim%20Reaper%20Cultist'>Grim Reaper Cultist (DeletedBecauseShy)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Paranormal Slingphries [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kuroshitsuji : The Most Beautiful DEATH in the World - Iwasaki/Mori/Mari, Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Ghosts, M/M, Post-Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 16:47:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>813</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30133416</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeletedBecauseShy/pseuds/Grim%20Reaper%20Cultist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Eric isn’t sure of a whole lot, not anymore. With Alan gone, things can get blurry at times. But, he does know two things for sure. Alan is gone, and he lives alone. </p><p>Those two things had to be true. Right?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alan Humphries/Eric Slingby</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Paranormal Slingphries [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2075019</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Picture That Is Worth Your Life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s three weeks later that Ron finally sees Eric again. Honestly, it’s less time than the boy thought he would take off; He and Alan had always been really close. So, when the younger man died, it was understandable that Eric retreated back into himself, and, when he rejoined everyone at the office, he was noticeably different than before. </p><p>Gone was the loud, talkative, and friendly Scotsman. Now, a near-silent and rash man sat in his place. </p><p>All of his reaps were done with expert precision, like no emotions had dulled his plan of action. </p><p>When he finally gets home, his routine is strict and perfect. There is no reason for him to stray from scheduling. There is no one to distract him anymore. There is no one to pull him into a kiss in the middle of him drying his hair. There is no one else in the house. </p><p>He’s looking in the mirror when his phone goes off, blinking obnoxiously until he picks it up. An update had installed itself, great. He reads through it once he’s sitting in the bed. </p><p>New features! Including:</p><p>Facial recognition and unlocking.</p><p>Improved voice recognition. </p><p>And more!</p><p>The second one seems useful. He never had been able to get whatever technology it was to recognise his accent. </p><p>The first one, though, seems cool. He clicks on the new setting to set it up. It seems pretty easy. Just take a few selfies and it records your face and lets you use it as a key. </p><p>The camera clicks, he goes to take another. Repeat, repeat, and repeat. Then, he scrolls through them, looking for the best one. The first is okay, second better, and third-</p><p>His eyes do a double-take, flicking back to the image displayed. The ruffle of brown hair doesn’t exist behind him; it stands out from the bleak background. </p><p>Hesitantly, he takes another, trying to rationalise what had appeared previously. It was obvious, he thought, he had finally snapped and was seeing things. Still, he clicks the button and waits for the results to show on-screen. </p><p>This time, where the fluff of hair once was alone, he can see eyes along with it, bright green eyes. He recognises the eyes, just as he had the hair. </p><p>He knows, logically, that it’s fake, that he’s finally started to see what he wants to see. That is why Alan is in the photo he just took. There is no other possible reason, none whatsoever. </p><p>Alan is dead. Dead people don’t just show up. Nope, no way. Right? Well, there’s only one way to know for sure. “If that really is you, and I haven’t finally gone crazy, I’ll be right back.” God, he really was just talking to himself now, huh. </p><p>Anyways, he hopped into his small car quickly, flooring it all the way to Ron’s place. He knocked on the door impatiently. </p><p>“Eric? Do you need something?” Ron opened the door, obviously fresh out of bed. His hair is sticking up in 6 different directions and his glasses are nowhere to be seen. “Also, can it wait until tomorrow?”</p><p>“Absolutely not.” He doesn’t wait for Ron to invite him in, pushing past the smaller man with ease. “Look at this.” The phone is close enough to Ron’s face for him to see it even without his glasses. “Do you see him too?” </p><p>There’s a moment of silence. </p><p>“Yeah, what about it? Look, I know you two were close but I don’t see the point of showing me pictures of Alan right now.” Oh! So he could see Alan too! He double-checks just to be sure. </p><p>“So, Alan is in this picture, right?” A nod. “Well, I took this just a bit ago.” A confused look. Right now, Eric is just happy to have the confirmation he was sure he wouldn’t get. “I’m sorry for waking you up, you can go back to sleep now. Thank you so much!” Then, the door is closing on Ron’s face. </p><p>What exactly had Ron just witnessed? He knew there wasn’t a Reaper in the realm with full custody of all their marbles but that was a new type of strange. Ah, screw it. He was going back to bed. </p><p>~</p><p>Once Eric was back in his own home, it took everything in him not to scream. Even if it didn’t all make sense, it would. He was smart; Alan was smart; They could, no, they would figure something out. </p><p>For now, it was just nice to know that there is someone in the house, again. “I love you, I hope you can hear me.” He doesn’t notice anything happening, just the same quiet sounds of his own heartbeat and breathing. </p><p>Maybe, if his hearing was just a little bit better, he would be able to hear the other set of noises. The second heartbeat and the slower breathing.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And that’s it for this series! The random little bolt of motivation is finally out of my system, I can replace it now! If you enjoyed, maybe leave a comment? And maybe I will cherish it like gold? ~&lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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